Auror Nathaniel Dodson
Academic and Professional Career Nathaniel came to his Auror career by one of the strangest paths possible. Orphaned at an early age, young Nathaniel found himself living on the streets of London. Begging and fighting for his life, he was in daily conflict with the neighborhood gangs, who didn’t take kindly to his intrusion on their turf. Shivering on a cold street, holding a cup in hopes of charity, Nathaniel’s life involved nothing but misery. However, his fortunes were about to change. Walking by, a stranger gave him some money and one special coin, telling Nathaniel that the coin was for luck, and asking him to keep it with him at all times. Nathaniel didn’t believe in luck and told the stranger as much. But the stranger merely replied ‘Then perhaps this will help’ as he walked away. Nathaniel decided he still didn’t believe in luck, but keeping the coin wouldn’t do any harm either. Several weeks later Nathaniel was once again in trouble. He had angered a local gang and they had decided to put an end to his meddling. Cornered and outnumbered, he had already taken out several of the bigger attackers, but he couldn’t last much longer. There were too many of them. One of them lunged delivering a brutal uppercut. Falling to the ground, Nathaniel heard a strange metal sound. The stranger’s coin, meant for ‘luck’, rolled along the ground, having been knocked out of his shirt pocket by the force of the blow. ‘So much for luck’ Nathaniel thought as he picked himself up to face his last fight. As his bloodied attackers pressed forward, eager for their vengeance, Nathaniel noticed a bright white cloud moving quickly towards them. Suddenly, the cloud took the form of a man, standing tall behind his persecutors. They barely had time to turn and face him before the stranger uttered an incantation and the attackers fell, as if struck down dead. The stranger walked towards Nathaniel, stooped to pick up the coin, and simply said ‘Follow me’. Recognizing his voice as the stranger who had first given him the coin, Nathaniel timidly followed the stranger out of the alley, and into a world he never dreamed existed. For the stranger was an wizard knight, Sir Frederick Alfred Smith, in the order Constatine, who had received an odd request from his brother to look after Nathaniel. Not fully understanding why, but willing to help regardless, Frederick had given the boy a coin enchanted with a tracking charm whose signal strengthened when Nathaniel was in distress. The coin had warned the Auror that Nathaniel was in trouble. Frederick decided to take Nathaniel in and raise him. He hired private tutors to educate Nathaniel, and personally taught him to duel. Nathaniel did well in his studies but he showed an amazing ability for dueling, having learned all sorts of tricks from his time in the streets that worked just as well with magic as with fists. But his mentor was concerned. Nathaniel‘s private tutoring gave little in the way of social interaction, and Nathaniel’s life on the street had certainly not done Nathaniel any favors in that regard. Nathaniel was understandably very angry at the Muggle world, and saw the Wizarding world as far superior, an attitude which worried his mentor greatly. Seeing Nathaniel’s amazing skill in dueling, and concerned that a lack of positive personal interaction would stunt Nathaniel’s social growth, Frederick had Nathaniel join various dueling leagues and compete in many dueling competitions around the world, several of which he won. Nathaniel’s success brought some notoriety, and for the first time in Nathaniel's life people were chasing him, not to beat him, but to encourage him. Consistently surprised by Nathaniel’s incredible talents, his mentor called in a few favors and got Nathaniel the rare opportunity to join the Auror training program despite not having a typical degree of a wizard school. Much to Frederick’s disappointment Nathaniel refused the offer, preferring to live a life away from the responsibilities he saw in Frederick‘s career.. He was quite happy with his life- working a normal job, increasing his fame by winning tournaments, and staying with the one who had given him a second chance. However, his fame as a young duelist brought the attention of those who were far less reputable, and a group of fellow competitors befriended him. A group who, unbeknownst to Nathaniel, had close ties to Death Eaters. Having learned of Nathaniel’s hatred of Muggles, they enflamed it into full anger, and filled his head with ideas of Wizards walking openly in the Muggle world- their existence no longer a secret. Their power used as it should be: to become masters of the Muggle world. After several weeks he was a full fledged member of their group in all ways but one- the mark. Initially, Nathaniel balked at receiving the mark, but after some convincing Nathaniel took it willingly ‘for the sake of the cause’. His first mission as a full fledged Death Eater was to kill the family of a young Auror, Auror Malroy. The Death Eaters meant this mission to firmly secure Nathaniel to their group, but they misjudged the hatred in Nathaniel’s heart, and he was appalled at the thought of killing this family. Nathaniel realized his so-called ‘friends’ had lied to him and, regretting any association with them, denounced them as he left. They would have killed him as he withdrew but having witnessed his abilities first hand they decided against a frontal, or even sneak, assault on their former ’friend’. Instead, they decided to get the revenge in a much more subtle way. Fearful of Nathaniel’s wrath, they poisoned his mentor, but made Frederick’s death look like a fatal disease. However, they once again underestimated Nathaniel’s skills, and he discovered the truth. Not wanting his mentor to know of his former associates, Nathaniel told no one of his discovery and spent all his time with his dying mentor. Knowing that he lay on his death bed, Frederick made one final request and asked Nathaniel to use all of his training for something greater. Nathaniel vowed to do just that. After the funeral, Nathaniel spoke to the Ministry regarding his desire to join the Auror training program, but not immediately, for he had a personal matter that must be attended to first.. He hunted down his former friends, the Death Eaters who had killed his Mentor. One by one, they mysteriously vanished, never to be heard from again. In his own sense of justice, he used the very curse that they had told him to use on Malroy’s family. A fair demise for that unsavory lot. But the Ministry discovered his acts of vengeance, and arrested him as a vigilante. However, his mentor was well respected, and had many friends. The records of Nathaniel’s crimes were ‘misplaced’ and the matter disappeared entirely. Instead, the ministry offered Nathaniel a position in the Auror training program. A position he eagerly accepted. He did exceptionally well and graduated with excellent marks all around. Soon he was given his first mission. A mission that would change his life forever. Due to his unusually high marks, a shortage of personal, and the mission’s urgency, the ministry made the rare decision to allow Nathaniel’s first mission to be rated ‘highly dangerous’. But the mission would go terribly wrong, and by it’s end thirteen Aurors were dead. Despite Nathaniel’s rough beginnings nothing in him was prepared for the level of trauma he now faced. After a lengthy respite, Nathaniel went on to complete several difficult missions successfully, but the Nathaniel who left on that mission never truly came back. Although he had lost his heart, he continued to see incredible success as an Auror, and was even promoted. Due to his amazing skills and impeccable record he was asked to join an elite unit of the Aurors called the Cauldron (jokingly referred to by its members as ‘Merlin’s Beard’, the pejorative interjection used when things go horribly wrong. Because, in their opinion, that seemed to be the reason for a majority of their missions) Formed in response to the first and second Wizarding wars, the Cauldron was an overwatch group who monitored authoritative branches of the government. Recently he has been assigned to monitor Minister Umbridge’s administration, and quite ironically, was promoted to head Auror by Minister Umbridge for his excellent service during the investigation of Hogwarts. Personal Life Nathaniel Dodson is a keen investigator with a quick wit and a drive to protect those under his care. A master at verbal innuendo and implied threats, he excels at interviews and has been known to obtain information even out of the most stubborn witnesses. Always keeping his interviewee guessing, he manages to play both the ‘good cop’ and the ‘bad cop’ even during the very same interview. To him, interviews are a combination of chess and poker, where complex intellectual calculations meet with the ability to bluff well and often, both skills he does exceptionally well; and he is certainly willing to land the occasional ‘cheap shot’ to send his subject emotionally reeling, and vulnerable to further questioning. Auror Dotson has a keen sense of right and wrong, and an overwhelming desire to protect the innocent. Unfortunately, at times he employs methods which can harm innocents in an effort to defend them. He sees the evil and seeks to remove it with all diligence, not realizing the power he wields to do so can quickly become evil. He also has a strong distrust that people can change, preferring to play it safe when it comes to the protection of innocents. Nathaniel hates buttermilk. His favorite color is blue. The brother of Nathaniel’s mentor, Frederick Smith, is Fortis Smith. Fortis asked Frederick to look after Nathaniel at an early age, sensing great power in him saying ‘sicut praedixit Esaias praecedente prodigio’ (the foretold prodigy).